Hand Flight 253 suspect over to the military, senator says

WASHINGTON
— A key senator pressured the Obama administration Tuesday to hand over
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to military interrogators, while criticism
mounted over the decision to charge him in federal court.

“To me, this is outrageous,” said Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman.

Lieberman said the 23-year-old Nigerian charged with trying to blow up Detroit-bound Flight 253 on Dec. 25 is a man “who I think we can fairly describe as a soldier in al-Qaida.”

Lieberman and other members of Congress say Abdulmutallab stopped talking to investigators after he was read his rights as a criminal defendant.

A law enforcement source told the Free Press that Abdulmutallab was charged on Dec. 25 after discussions with intelligence officials — including agencies whose heads told a Senate committee last week they weren’t consulted.

A Homeland Security official said the Justice Department had made its decision before those conversations.

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